The archive is the results of a year-long venture led by a group of College specialists, who rigorously restored, preserved and recorded tons of of historic paperwork from Aberlour, together with administrative information, case recordsdata, annual stories, pictures and problems with the charity’s journal.

Now absolutely searchable and open to those that have private or household connections to Aberlour and to researchers, the archive gives an in depth file of the organisation’s work caring for kids throughout Scotland because the institution of its first orphanage in 1875.

Ron, who arrived at Aberlour as a six-month-old child alongside his seven older siblings, stated: “I’ve been in contact with Aberlour Youngsters’s Charity for a few years, nevertheless, for one purpose or one other, I had by no means reached the stage of handing over my archive. When Aberlour stated they have been giving their archive materials to the College of Stirling, I used to be very eager to be concerned in that.

“I used to be eager to listen to that the coed physique, within the generations to return, will have the ability to entry Aberlour’s and my very own archive – I felt that was fairly an essential factor to do. It’s additionally a legacy for my kids; they know little or no about their father’s upbringing.”

The archive incorporates materials overlaying virtually 150 years of Aberlour’s historical past

Ron was born in Edinburgh and spent fourteen years on the previous Victorian Institute. He went on to have a profitable profession within the automotive trade and moved again to the Aberlour space in his late 50s, the place he lived along with his spouse for 12 years. In partnership with Aberlour Youngsters’s Charity, he has given quite a few talks about his life and experiences within the previous residence and, because of this, obtained donations of images and tales from others related to Aberlour, ultimately amassing a big assortment of Orphanage supplies, which he has now donated to the College Archive.

Ron added: “After I have a look at the fabric that I’ve, some goes again to the 1920s and one merchandise, goes again to 1871. There’s one specific file the place you may kind of comply with my route by way of orphanage life, from starting to finish. It’s an important and private doc to me, but it surely’s one thing I’m happy to share with the College.

“I’m very happy to see the archive open and to formally hand over the fabric I’ve.”

Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, Kirstie Blair, appears by way of among the archive materials with Ron and Karl

SallyAnn Kelly, Chief Govt of Aberlour Youngsters’s Charity, stated: “We regularly communicate to individuals who have been introduced up within the care system, or have some expertise of care, and so they typically don’t have a lot of a written file of what their life was like. The archive actually gives individuals taken care of at Aberlour with the fullest potential account of their life.

“The partnership we now have with the College is essential to us – each from a preservation of archive perspective but in addition for the long-term studying of scholars in well being and social care.”

Karl Magee, College of Stirling Archivist, stated: “Our venture group painstakingly preserved, cleaned, repackaged and catalogued paperwork overlaying virtually 150 years of Aberlour historical past.

“The archive now permits a full and detailed file to be obtainable for these looking for to seek out out extra about their time in care. This new useful resource will even deliver important advantages for the analysis neighborhood, contributing to enhancements in each record-keeping and social care, with the historical past of Aberlour introduced collectively in a single place for the primary time.”

The cataloguing of the Aberlour Youngsters’s Charity Archive was funded by a £26,954 grant awarded by Archives Revealed – a partnership programme between The Nationwide Archives, The Pilgrim Belief and the Wolfson Basis which is the one funding stream within the UK devoted to cataloguing and unlocking archives. 

The Aberlour Youngsters Charity’s Archive might be accessed through the College of Stirling web site.